


[pink]

by livecement



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 08:22:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7525381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livecement/pseuds/livecement
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He knew it wouldn't fix him.<br/>He knew it could only bring him more trouble.<br/>But fuck, a little hair dye never hurt anyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	[pink]

**Author's Note:**

> Just a couple things to know before reading:  
> This takes place in an AU where Haru and Kisumi meet in high school.  
> They don't know anyone else from the Free! universe.  
> They live in a fairly small, very traditional town.  
> I also use homophobic slurs and some language that can get kind of nasty. Please be wary of that. It hurt to write it, but I didn't want to shy away.

Kisumi stood in front of his bathroom mirror staring at his reflection.

_Fag_

He brought a hand up to twist a lock of damp hair between his fingers. What was once a light strawberry blonde was now bleached almost completely white; paired with his pale skin he looked like a ghost of himself. Funny, considering that's what he'd felt like lately.

_Keep his fairy ass out of the locker room_

He stared into his own purple eyes, they looked almost frightening now contrasted with his white hair, and then his gaze moved down to the bottle of hair dye on the counter in front of him. His scalp still tingled from the bleach that Haru had applied for him, and he wished he could say something poetic, like, _as_ _the bleach scorched the pigment from his hair, heat licking at his scalp, it absolved him of the cruel whispers that plagued his inner thoughts_ , but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.  All of the gross, shitty things that'd been running through his head  had continued, mixed with the occasional, _please for the love of all that is holy, don't let Haru burn all of my hair off._ Of course it'd been ridiculous to worry about that because, as was Haru's way, it had turned out perfectly.

_How is he supposed to play if he's getting it up the ass from Nanase every night?_

A drop of water fell from his hair and ran down the back of his neck sending a shiver through his body.

"You going to stare at it all day, or are we doing this?" Haru spoke from where he was sitting in the empty bathtub.

Kisumi sighed and picked up the bottle. He turned to Haru and tossed it to him. "Alright, let's make me fabulous." What he had meant to be facetious only came out sounding bitter and a little broken.

Haru stepped out of the tub frowning and gestured for Kisumi to sit on the toilet.

"Try not to get dye all over the place. My mom will kill me," he said as he sat down.

Haru stood at the bathroom counter getting the supplies ready. "She's probably going to kill you when she sees your hair anyway."

_Does your mother know she raised a fucking perve?_

Kisumi sighed. It was true that his mom would probably make him dye it back or shave it off the minute she saw it, but he couldn't bring himself to care right now.

_Fuck, I bet you've been watching us change this whole time_

The sound of gloves snapping made him jump, and then he heard the pop of a cap and suddenly the smell of bubblegum filled the air. He snorted. "Really, they had to make it smell like bubblegum?"

Haru made no comment and proceeded to mix the dye in a small bowl with an application brush. Kisumi watched as Haru moved methodically, completely focused on what he was doing. It was much like when he painted, or did anything that he felt was important. When he was done he moved to stand in between Kisumi's legs, and started to apply the dye.  Kisumi hummed at the feeling of Haru's hands in his hair, parting it before brushing the dye into his roots. They were quiet for a while, Kisumi keeping his eyes closed and trying not to think too hard about anything that had happened.  The quiet was interrupted when Haru let out a small huff of air.

"Did you fuck up?" Kisumi asked, trying not to sound too worried.

"No." Haru replied shortly.

"Then what is it?"

Haru didn't speak for a moment and then said, "I hate that you have to deal with this."

Kisumi's stomach knotted and he breathed out slowly. "Haru, you've been dealing with shit like this for most of high school," he reached out one hand and placed it gently on Haru's hip, "We only have a couple of weeks left before we graduate."

"But I'm used to people saying cruel shit about me," Kisumi's heart lodged into his throat at that, and he squeezed Haru's hip, but Haru ignored him and continued to speak matter-of-factly, "You're used to everyone liking you."

"Not everyone likes me," he said in a small voice.

He hissed when Haru tugged on his hair roughly. "Yes they do," Haru said and then ran his fingers through Kisumi's hair a little more gently. "You've just never let yourself see that."

_Disgusting_

Kisumi let out a sigh that turned into a barely audible whimper, and leant forward to try and rest his forehead against Haru's stomach.

"Oi," Haru caught his shoulder with his elbow and pushed him back. "The dye, idiot."

"Oh right, sorry," Kisumi hung his head and Haru continued to message the dye into the rest of his hair. "Well, clearly the basketball team doesn't like me," he attempted to joke. "Or the football team—o-or the baseball t—" his throat grew tight and voice cracked.

 "Hey," Haru knelt down in front of him and met his eyes with a severe look. "They are all a bunch of sick fucks, and they deserve to burn for what they put you through. What they say doesn't mean shit."

Kisumi nodded weakly and Haru stood back up to finish off his hair.

"They can fucking die for all I care," he added.

Kisumi snorted.

"I'm serious Kis," he snapped.

"I know you are," Kisumi giggled. "And I know that you didn't mean it as a joke, but it was still funny."

Haru stopped kneading his hair and stared down at him blankly. He looked at the dye covering his gloved hands, and then back up to the dye in Kisumi's hair. When it finally clicked Haru rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Punning is the lowest form of wit," he said dryly.

"Ah, but it is wit nonetheless," Kisumi intoned.

Haru leveled him with one of his Haru Looks, and ripped the gloves off of his hands. "Can you sit for twenty minutes without playing with your hair?"

Kisumi made an offended noise. "I did when the bleach was in, thank you very much."

Haru smirked and reclaimed his spot in the bathtub, letting one leg hang out of the edge. Kisumi set an alarm on his phone, and then started scrolling through his apps to find a game, all social media apps having been deleted by Haru.

They sat quietly and waited, Kisumi playing a game on his phone, and Haru staring off into space, lost in thought.

Kisumi shook his leg anxiously, just wanting the process to be done already. He set his phone on the counter and stared down at the tiled floor.

_I bet you like everyone seeing you like this_

He didn't want to look the same anymore.

_Should we go find Nanase and get him here to suck your dick for you?_

He wanted to own himself again.

_C'mon, smile for everybody, Kissy_

Haru told him not to let them win.

_Sick homo_

He wasn't going to let them fucking win.

The alarm went off on his phone and he jumped. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Haru get up out of the tub. Then he felt a hand on his cheek and he raised his head to find Haru looking down at him with soft eyes.

"Let's rinse all of this out," he said gently.

Kisumi wondered if Haru wasn't just talking about the hair dye.

He knelt in front of the tub, ducked his head, and closed his eyes. He heard the creak of pipes as Haru turned on the faucets, and the deafening rush of the bath water was welcome to his ears, blanking out his thoughts. He was reveling in the sound of almost nothingness, when suddenly cold water hit his scalp and he jolted.

"The colour keeps better if you rinse with cold water."

Kisumi only hummed in reply, quickly being soothed by the feeling of Haru's strong fingers working through his hair. When he dared to open his eyes he watched as the colour flowed from his hair, pooling and swirling at the bottom of the tub, only to be washed away by more diluted colour. He imagined this is what Hello Kitty would like if she were to bleed out.

Haru set down the shower head to rub shampoo into Kisumi's hair, and Kisumi melted into his hands.  

_Cocksucking piece of—_

No.

The hands left all too soon and were replaced once again by cold water. Kisumi started out watching the colour-tinted bubbles stream down and away to the drain, but felt soapy water starting to creep towards his eyes, so he closed them and just listened to the water.

_Worthless—_

No.

His neck and back started to strain from being bent over the tub, but he almost welcomed the burn.

_You should just k—_

Fuck no.

He opened his eyes once again and saw that the water was running clean.

Haru turned off the tap, and then Kisumi felt a towel wiping water off of his neck and shoulders, and then being wrapped around his head. Haru helped him sit up, blood rushing pleasantly to his brain, and rubbed the towel into his hair some more.

He stood up, stretching his limbs, and Haru let the towel fall. He stared at Kisumi's hair, showing no outwards signs of emotion, so Kisumi couldn't gather whether it was bad or not. He turned to go look in the mirror, but Haru stopped him by grabbing his arm. Kisumi gave him a questioning look.

"Sit and let me blow dry it first."

"Haru, why?" Kisumi whined.

"It will be more effective."

Kisumi snorted. "Oh Haru, always with a flair for the dramatic."

Haru mumbled something incoherent and grabbed the hairdryer, turning it to mid-blast. Kisumi sighed and did what he was told, sitting on the toilet to let Haru do his thing. Haru ran the hot air over his hair, using his fingers to tousle it with purpose. Haru really was good at this hair styling thing, Kisumi thought.

After several minutes Haru finally turned off the hairdryer and took a moment to assess his work.  Kisumi's legs were bouncing at this point, and he looked at Haru eagerly.

Thankfully Haru didn't take the opportunity to tease him like he normally would. "Okay, you can look."

Kisumi sucked in a breath and nodded. He stood up and walked to the mirror, keeping his eyes closed. He gave himself two seconds, and then opened his eyes.

Woah.

He was pink.

Woah.

He was very, very pink.

He let out the breath he had been holding and stared at himself with wide eyes. He brought his hands up to touch the bubblegum pink locks gingerly, as if touching it would cause the colour to disappear. And as he ran his fingers through it his mouth slowly stretched into a wide grin. Smiling stupidly at his reflection, he tousled his hair, and turned his head to see it from all angles.

The pink brought out the colour in his previously lifeless cheeks, and complemented his eyes in an impish sort of way. He looked how he used to feel on the inside.

The longer he looked at it the more the joy in his chest swelled—to the point where it became overwhelming. Tears started to prick at his eyes, and he tingled all over. He laughed at himself and turned to Haru.

Haru had been watching him apparently, with his own small smile on his face.

"Do you like it?" Kisumi asked, his voice a little rough.

Haru nodded and stepped into his space. He brought his hands up to Kisumi's face, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, and wiping the tears away with his thumbs. "You look more like you."

Kisumi laughed again, and leaned into Haru, pressing their foreheads together. Haru dropped his arms so they rested around Kisumi's neck, and Kisumi wrapped his arms around Haru's waist. They stayed quiet like that for a few moments until Kisumi whispered, "Do you think they'll beat me up for this?"

He felt Haru tense in his arms, and would swear he could hear Haru's jaw clench. When he managed to speak his voice was filled with resentment. "They can fucking try. I'm not letting you out of my sight for the rest of the semester."

Kisumi snorted with the barest amount of humour. "You going to beat them up instead Haru?"

"I'm going to be prepared," he said evenly.

Kisumi didn't respond—didn't know how to. He probably should have questioned that further, but when Haru pressed himself closer and held onto him tighter, Kisumi decided it could wait for another time.

Later he would wish he hadn't waited.

He gave Haru a squeeze and then pulled back from the embrace. He brought a smirk to his lips—it almost felt normal—and looked down at Haru.

"Alright, let's show those fucks just how gay I am."

Something flashed in Haru's eyes, and Kisumi ignored it in favour of leaning down and pressing their lips together for a slow kiss. He knew deep in his gut that this was probably a bad idea. He should just make it through to graduation and leave quietly. But fuck if he was going to let himself be scared into silence.

Kisumi could never do anything quietly.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't want to say that dying your can heal emotional turmoil, but doing things that make you feel good about yourself can alleviate some of the pain.  
> Anyway, this is actually a bit from a whole multi-chapter idea that I have. I really want to get to writing it, but I'm just not sure when that will happen. I had been writing this for Kisumi's birthday, but then I was like, "shit I can't post this on his birthday." So I didn't and left it to sit until now. 
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://livecement.tumblr.com/)


End file.
